Conveyors



May 26, 1970 P. J. JJJJJ Ns y 3,513,780

OOOOOOO RS U.S. Cl. 104-25 17 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Belt-type conveyor capable of following a nonlinear path in a single plane, comprising a train of load-carrying panels pivotally connected together and toothed Ibridging means cooperating with ribs formed on the panels, to close the gap between successive panels.

This invention relates to conveyors, and particularly 'but not exclusively to belt-type passenger conveyors.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a joint device for a conveyor comprising a train of load-supporting panels in which the trailing edge of each panel is near to the leading edge of the next successive panel and successive panels are pivotallysecured vto one anotherso as to be relatively angularly movable in a common plane, at least one of each pair of successive panels having a longitudinally ribbed surface inthe region of the junction of the panels, the joint device comprising toothed bridging means to extend between the confronting edges of successive panels, the teeth of the bridging means being locatable at spaced-apart positions across the width of theconveyor in the grooves between the ribs of the' said ribbed surface. v n f According to another aspect of the invention' a conveyor element comprises a joint device as deiined in the last preceding paragraph together with a panel arranged to form part of atrain of load-supporting panels in which the trailing edge of each panel is near to the leading edge of the next successive panel yand successive panels are pivotally secured to one another so as to be relatively angularly movable in a common plane, wherein in the 'region of at least one end of thepanel there is formed a longitudinally ribbed surface to cooperate with the said toothed bridging means. d A Y According to a further aspect of the invention a conveyor comprises a train of load-supporting y panels in which the trailing edge of each panel is near to the leading edge of the next successive panel and successive panels are pivotally secured to one another so as to be relatively angularly movable in a com-mon plane, a joint device being provided to close 'the' gap between successive panels, the joint devicecomprising toothed bridging means and complementary interengaging formations, the complementary formations being locatable at spaced-apart positions across the width of the conveyor between the teeth of the toothed bridging means.

United States Patent O ice a load-supporting panel, partly cutaway, of a conveyor according to the invention.

A system for conveying passengers in a closed circuit comprises an endless belt [formed from a train of loadsupporting panels which are pivotally linked together so as to maintain the trailing edge of each panel near to the leading edge of the next successive panel while permitting the successive panels to move angularly relative to one another in a common, horizontal plane. The belt is supported at its edges by freely rotatable rollers disposed on iixed supports beneath the belt and is arranged to move along a track having portions which 'are curved in the horizontal plane so that the belt forms a closed circuit. The belt is guided around the track by freely rotatable guide rollers disposed adjacent the edges of the belt with their yaxes vertical, and if a concave bend in the vertical plane is required, horizontal rollers are provided to engage the upper surface of the belt to hold the belt down to the required curvature. The relatively angularly movable panels are pivotally secured to one another so that they can be angularly displaced through the appropriate angle to enable the belt to Ifollow the curved portion of the track. The belt is drivable by means of a continuous drive cable engageable with drive formations secured to `the lower surfaces of the panels.

As shown in the drawings, each panel 1 is approximately 4 feet in length and 3 feet 6 inches in width and is constructed from two spaced-apart superimposed layers 2, 3 of parallel, high modulus, steel cords embedded in a flexible rubber composition, the cords extending at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the panel and being closely and uniformly spaced along the length of the panel. The two plies are interspaced with a layer 4 of high modulus rubber having embedded therein two plies of textile reinforcement, the vertical spacing between the centres of the steel cord plies being approximately of an inch. This construction, which is of the kind described in the specification of British Pat. No. 974,131, provides a panel which is`relatively exible in a vertical plane passing through the longitudinal axis of the panel, and yet is sufliciently rigid in a plane transverse to that vertical plane to enable the panel to support the weight of passengers carried on the panel without any tendency to form a trough extending along the length of the panel. Suicient transverse rigidity is provided by this construction to enable the panels to be supported by the rollers (not shown) positioned adjacent the edges of the belt vihout any need for support in the central region of the The upper and lower surfaces of each panel are provided with covering layers 5, 6 respectively of rubber. The layer 5 is moulded into a pattern of longitudinally extending ribs 7 which are 1A of an inch in width and 1A of an inch in height, separated by grooves having a width of 1A of an inch. The upper and lower rubber layers 5, 6

` terminate at a short distance from the leading and trailing One embodiment of the invention will now be deto the jaccomedges of each panel, leaving a longitudinally projecting tongue 8 at each of these edges which is covered by a thin rubber layer.

Each panel is provided with a tensile member in the form of a single wire rope 9, 1A of an inch in diameter and passing centrally along the longitudinal axis of each panel between the two reinforcing plies 2, 3. The wire rope is bonded to the panel, and projects at each end. One end of the rope is provided with a coupling eye 10 and the other end is provided with a forked coupling member 11 so that successive panels can be linked together by a clevis pin (not shown) passing through the forked member of one panel and the coupling eye of the other panel.

The lower surface of each panel is provided with a drive formation in the form of a downwardly projecting longitudinally extending rubber rib 12 formed with a centrally disposed longitudinal groove 13 of tapering cross-sectional profile, the opening of the groove being wider than the base. This groove is designed to sit over and grip drive means for the conveyor in the form of a wire drive cable 14 of appropriate diameter so that the weight of the panel and any load placed upon it will cause the sides of the groove to grip the wire cable so that it can drive the panel along. Drive stations are set up at a number of points along the wire drive cable as required.

In order to close the gap between the confronting edges of successive panels, that is the gap between the trailing edge of one panel and the leading edge of the next successive panel, a joint device comprising toothed bridging means in the form of a flexible comb assembly is supported between each pair of successive panels to extend between the said confronting edges. Each comb assembly is mounted on support means located between the confronting edges of successive panels. The support means is in the form of two lengths 15 of metal of H-shaped cross section located one on each side of the wire rope 9 and extending across the width of the belt. The lengths of metal are arranged so that they present a pair of opposed channels 16 into which the ends of the tongues 8 of the associated panels t slidably. The depth of each channel, considered in the longitudinal direction of the belt, is sufficient to enable the successive panels to be angularly moved about the clevis pin to accommodate the curvature required for the belt to negotiate a curve of a predetermined radius.

The upper surfaces of the H-section lengths of metal 15 form a support for the eXible comb assembly which comprises a pair of combs 17, one for each panel, which are each formed with a neckl portion which is clamped between a pair of securing plates in the form lof metal strips 18, 19 extending across the width of the belt and secured to the H-section metal lengths by bolts 20. Each comb is provided on the side thereof remote from its respective neck portion with a set of longitudinally extending teeth 21 at spaced-apart positions across the width of the conveyor which engage one tooth with each longitudinal groove between sucessive ribs 7 in the upper surface of its associated panel in the region of the junction of the panels, the ribs 7 thus constituting complementary formations interengaging with the teeth 21. The combs are each in the form of an assembly of comb segments which are arranged in end to end relationship across the width of the conveyor. Each comb is assembled with small gaps between successive comb segments and this arrangement allows the segments to be adjusted in position in a transverse direction relative to the conveyor to bring the teeth 21 into alignment with the grooves between the ribs of the panel surfaces. Such adjustment is effected after freeing the segments by slackening the bolts 20.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings it will be noted that of the comb segments shown in FIGS. 1

downwardly in a direction away from the H-section support means. The teeth 21 are exible in the horizontal plane but are relatively inexible in the vertical plane.`

When two successive panels of the conveyor are moving in a straight line, the gap between the panels is of equal width at both lateral edges of the conveyor and the teeth of the combs lie 'in the grooves of the panels without lateral deection, providing a smooth upper surface in the region between the panels. When the belt travels around a `curve in a horizontal plane the gaps between successive panels at the outer edge of the conveyor relative to the centre of the curve increase in length, and the gaps at the inner edge decrease in length. In this condition the longitudinal grooves in one panel of the conveyor are at a slight angle to those of the next panel. The lateral flexibility of the teeth of the combs permits the teeth to bend to accommodate this slight change of angle whilst the teeth slide in the grooves of the panels to enable the gap at the outer edge of the conveyor to open and the gap at the inner edge to close. The lengths of the teeth of the combs are such that no part of the tongue of the associated panel is exposed at any time, and this eliminates any danger of articles being trapped between the respective leading and trailing edges of successive panels.

When passing around a curve it may be necessary for the drive cable 14 to be deflected away from the train of panels through a series of pulleys in order to enable its direction to be changed, and the panels themselves may then be guided around the curve by a static rail or other suitable means engaging the groove formed in the rubber rib 12 of each panel.

In an otherwise similar alternative construction, the tensile member corresponding to the tensile member 9 is continuous through a number of panels, thus avoiding the need for clevis joints between each pairof successive panels. In another such alternative construction, the leading and trailing edges of the panels are formed at an acute angle to the longitudinal direction of the panels in order to permit a greater angular displacement of the panels.

Having now described my invention what I claim is:

1. A joint device for a conveyor comprising a train of load-supporting panels in which the trailing edge of each panel is near to the leading edge of the next successive panel and successive panels are pivotally secured to one another so as to be relatively angularly movable in a common plane, at least one of each pair of successive panels having a longitudinally ribbed surface in the region of the junction of the panels, the joint device comprising toothed bridging means to extend between the confronting edges of successive panels, the teeth of the briding means being locatable at spaced apart positions across the width of the conveyor in the grooves between the ribs of the ribbed surface.

and 3 only the two segments at the longitudinal edge of the conveyor which can be seen in those figures are shown to be located by the bolts 20 themselves. The corresponding two segments of the comb assembly at the other longitudinal edge of the conveyor are of course similarly located by bolts, but the segments between these two pairs of segments are simply secured by the clamping action of the securing plate 18. While this manner of construction is satisfactory for the comparatively narrow belt shown in the drawings, for a wider conveyor it would be desirable to locate all the comb segments by means of bolts arranged in a manner similar to that of the bolts 20, the holes formed in the segments for the bolts to pass through being elongated to allow adjustment of position of the segments in a transverse direction relative to the belt.

The combs are manufactured from flexible material such as polyvinyl chlorideor a polyurethane, and taper 2. A joint device according to claim 1 for a conveyor of which each panel has a longitudinally ribbed surface in the region of each end of the panel, wherein the toothed bridging means comprises two sets of flexible teeth, one set for each panel.

3. A joint device according to claim 2 wherein the toothed briding means is arranged to be mounted on support means locatable between the confronting edges of successive panels.

4. A joint device according to claim 3 for a conveyor of which each panel is provided with a longitudinally projecting tongue at each end of the panel, wherein the support means has formed therein a pair of opposed channels into which the ends of the tongues formed at the trailing end of one panel and at the leading edge of the next following panel are slidably locatable.

`5. A joint device according to claim 1 for a conveyor of which each panel has a longitudinally ribbed surface in the region of each end of the panel and wherein the toothed bridging means comprises two combs arranged back to back, the teeth of one comb being locatable in the grooves between the ribs of one panel and the teeth of the other comb being locatable in the grooves between the ribs of the next following panel.

6. A joint device according to claim comprising support means on which the toothed bridging means is arranged to be mounted, the support means being locatable between the confronting edges of successive panels, wherein each comb is formed with a neck portion remote from its teeth, the neck portions of each pair of combs being clamped to the support member by means of a securing plate extending transversely across the conveyor.

7. A joint device according to claim 1 wherein the toothed bridging means is formed as a series of segments which are arranged to be adjustable in position in a transverse direction relative to the conveyor.

8. A joint device according to claim 1 wherein the teeth of the toothed bridging means are of polyvinyl chloride.

9. A joint device according to claim 1 wherein the teeth of the toothed bridging means are of a polyurethane.

10. A conveyor element comprising a joint device according to claim 1 together with a panel arranged to form part of a train of load-supporting panels in which the trailing edge of each panel is near to the leading edge of the next successive panel and successive panels are pivotally secured to one another so as to be relatively angularly movable in a common plane, wherein in the region of at least one end of the panel there is for-med a longitudinally ribbed surface to cooperate with the said toothed bridging means.

11. A conveyor comprising a train of load-supporting panels in which the trailing edge of each panel is near to the leading edge of the next successive panel and successive panels are pivotally secured to one another so as to be relatively angularly movable in a common plane, a joint device being provided to close the gap between successive panels, the joint device comprising toothed bridging means and complementary interengaging formations, the complementary formations being locatable at spacedapart positions across the width of the conveyor between the teeth of the toothed bridging means.

12. A conveyor comprising an assembly of conveyor elements according to claim 10, the conveyor elements being linked end to end.

13. A conveyor according to claim 11 wherein each panel comprises a iiexible plastic material having embedded therein two spaced-apart, superimposed layers of parallel high modulus cords, the high modulus cords extending at right angles to the length of the panel and being closely and uniformly spaced along the length of the panel.

14. A conveyor according to claim 11 wherein each panel is provided with a single tensile member extending centrally along the longitudinal axis of the panel.

15. A 'conveyor according to claim 14 wherein each tensile member has a coupling eye at one end and a complementar'y forked coupling member at the other end to enable the panels to be connected together in end to end relationship.

16. A conveyor according to claim 11 wherein a drive formation is provided on the'lower surface of each panel for engagement with drive means for the conveyor.

17. A conveyor according to claim 16 -wherein the said drive formation is constituted by a `1ongitudinallyextending rubber rib formed with a centrally disposed longitudinal groove of tapering cross-sectional profile, the rib being for"l engagement with a corresponding drive cable constituting the said drive means for the conveyor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 421,186 2/ 1890 Munden 104-25 1,475,071 11/ 1923 Mangin 104-25 2,181,018 11/1939 Hughes et al. 94-18 3,126,084- 3/ 1964 Sinden 198-202 WILLIAM T. DIXSON, JR., Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 198-202 

